GNU Compiler Collection

The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a collection of <a href="/facts/Compiler/WNfCDFJe">compilers</a> from the <a href="/facts/GNU_Project/mjc8AwM6">GNU Project</a> that support various <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming languages</a>, <a href="/facts/Computer_architecture/tHtwxgR2">hardware architectures</a> and <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a>. The <a href="/facts/Free_Software_Foundation/k0sBmw7y">Free Software Foundation</a> (FSF) distributes GCC as <a href="/facts/Free_software/IaoVtJXn">free software</a> under the <a href="/facts/GNU_General_Public_License/S75KhLSX">GNU General Public License</a> (GNU GPL). GCC is a key component of the <a href="/facts/GNU_toolchain/8BfT9wfD">GNU toolchain</a> which is used for most projects related to <a href="/facts/GNU/HlAKKBdt">GNU</a> and the <a href="/facts/Linux_kernel/dlkduHuA">Linux kernel</a>. With roughly 15 million lines of code in 2019, GCC is one of the largest free programs in existence. It has played an important role in the growth of <a href="/facts/Free_software/IaoVtJXn">free software</a>, as both a tool and an example.
When it was first released in 1987 by <a href="/facts/Richard_Stallman/hhoPN0Mw">Richard Stallman</a>, GCC 1.0 was named the GNU C Compiler since it only handled the <a href="/facts/C_(programming_language)/Ky2No763">C programming language</a>. It was extended to compile <a href="/facts/C%2B%2B/Et0F2qn9">C++</a> in December of that year. <a href="/facts/Compiler/WNfCDFJe">Front ends</a> were later developed for <a href="/facts/Objective-C/5mM557BW">Objective-C</a>, <a href="/facts/Objective-C%2B%2B/5mM557BW">Objective-C++</a>, <a href="/facts/Fortran/m1KqjcMU">Fortran</a>, <a href="/facts/Ada_(programming_language)/Y2yHel4l">Ada</a>, <a href="/facts/Go_(programming_language)/oWlsmAFJ">Go</a>, <a href="/facts/D_(programming_language)/4qIzRjkF">D</a>, <a href="/facts/Modula-2/DFyUTdAq">Modula-2</a>, <a href="/facts/COBOL/wVnhqs0k">COBOL</a> and <a href="/facts/Rust_(programming_language)/8JNMV19F">Rust</a> among others. The <a href="/facts/OpenMP/69IpI80o">OpenMP</a> and <a href="/facts/OpenACC/VQ0S0cf2">OpenACC</a> specifications are also supported in the C and C++ compilers.
GCC has been <a href="/facts/Porting/7s6tFs8B">ported</a> to more platforms and <a href="/facts/Instruction_set_architecture/8p8vwUeE">instruction set architectures</a> than any other compiler, and is widely deployed as a tool in the development of both free and <a href="/facts/Proprietary_software/9zcskxYL">proprietary software</a>. GCC is also available for many <a href="/facts/Embedded_system/a4muX1wU">embedded systems</a>, including <a href="/facts/ARM_architecture_family/SALsYA79">ARM</a>-based and <a href="/facts/Power_ISA/GLy1WS0m">Power ISA</a>-based chips.
As well as being the official compiler of the <a href="/facts/GNU_operating_system/HlAKKBdt">GNU operating system</a>, GCC has been adopted as the standard compiler by many other modern <a href="/facts/Unix-like/YAKrAxzd">Unix-like</a> computer <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a>, including most <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> distributions. Most <a href="/facts/Berkeley_Software_Distribution/XQKcURrh">BSD</a> family operating systems also switched to GCC shortly after its release, although since then, <a href="/facts/FreeBSD/RKsFTm7F">FreeBSD</a> and <a href="/facts/MacOS/Y93vVpTm">Apple macOS</a> have moved to the <a href="/facts/Clang/MH7cjC67">Clang</a> compiler, largely due to licensing reasons. GCC can also compile code for <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a>, <a href="/facts/Android_(operating_system)/nNyHb0xz">Android</a>, <a href="/facts/IOS/mK5cggH5">iOS</a>, <a href="/facts/Solaris_(operating_system)/KPfT98EJ">Solaris</a>, <a href="/facts/HP-UX/hIvLDdJF">HP-UX</a>, <a href="/facts/IBM_AIX/cRWERua2">AIX</a> and <a href="/facts/DOS/sWwDXNmX">DOS</a>.

GNU Compiler Collection open-in-new

GNU Compiler Collection